Jesús Abel Bueno León

7 Días

May 22, 1997, in Chilpancingo, Mexico

Bueno León, director of the regional weekly 7 Días (7 Days), was found dead, his body ridden with bullets, next to his burned car on a road close to the city of Chilpancingo, the state capital of Guerrero, 120 miles south of Mexico City. Members of the National Union of Journalists said that they had asked the governor to protect Bueno León two months ago after he had received death threats.

Bueno León left a letter to be made public in the event of his death listing names of those who may have wanted him dead. Topping the list was José Ruben Robles Catalán, former secretary of state for Guerrero, who was suing Bueno León and other journalists for defamation for reporting on criminal allegations against him that the government was investigating. After Bueno León's murder, 50 local journalists marched to the central plaza in Chilpancingo, where they called on the governor to investigate the circumstances of the crime.